The Big 12 regular season title is for the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats (+6,000 to win the national title) to lose. Currently on top of the conference with a 10-3 league record, the Wildcats will look to protect that lead the rest of the way for a guaranteed spot in the Big Dance – not that they are in desperate need of it. The Oklahoma State Cowboys (+200,000) are in a much different predicament, as they likely need to win the conference tournament to get into the NCAA National Tournament.
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Betting Preview for the Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Kansas State Wildcats College Basketball Game on February 23, 2019
Where: Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan
When: Saturday, February 23, 2019, 4:00 PM ET
Line: Oklahoma State Cowboys (odds) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-16 Overall / 3-10 Conference)
You know a team is going nowhere when it starts to play a football player and a former stud en manager. That was the case for the Cowboys in their 18-point loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders at home on Feb. 13. However, despite being down to only seven healthy players on scholarships, the Cowboys managed to surprise the Big 12 world and stopped their five-game losing skid with a 68-61 win in Stillwater last Monday. The Cowboys leaned on their early hot shooting in that game, as they banged in seven of their nine shots from the 3-point region. They cooled off the rest of the way from distance, making only one 3-pointer on their next nine attempts from behind the arc. Still, the Cowboys could still be feeling confident of their stroke from distance that they might try to find their rhythm early from deep early in the rematch with Kansas State. In the first meeting this season with the Wildcats, Oklahoma State went 11-for-20 from the field (55.0 percent). The Cowboys are third in the Big 12 with a 37.6 3-point shooting percentage. They need more from leading scorer Cam McGriff, though, after he only had four points and went 0-for-7 from the field in the TCU game.
The under is 7-3 in Oklahoma State’s last 10 games away from Stillwater.
Betting on the Kansas State Wildcats (20-6 Overall / 10-3 Conference)
After stumbling in a 78-64 home loss to the Kansas State Wildcats at home on Feb.16, Kansas State gathered itself and recovered immediately, beating the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown last Monday, 65-51. Kansas State leading scorer Barry Brown did most of the heavy lifting in the West Virginia game, as he poured in a game-high 21 points to go with four assists and four steals. Forward Xavier Sneed had 19 points with five 3-pointers, seven rebounds, and three steals. Brown had 18 points with five. During the first meeting with the Cowboys, it was Dean Wade who did most of the damage, as he had 24 points and six rebounds, while Brown had 18 points. A big key to the Wildcats win in that game was that they were able to outgun Oklahoma State from long distance, nailing 16 treys on 29 attempts for a high 55.9 percentage. They also dominated the rebounding battle by a large margin, 36-26.
The Wildcats are fourth in the nation in scoring defense with just 59.8 points allowed per game.
Kansas State is 12-7 against the spread (ATS) in games after a win this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Kansas State wins, 67-57.
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